Matt Araiza Deserves a Second Chance
The So-called 'Punt God' Appears to be a Victim of Me-Too Mob Justice
As a lifelong Bills fan, I was thrilled when my team drafted Matt Araiza, a punter who earned the nickname the “Punt God” at San Diego State, last year. But the Bills released him a day after a civil lawsuit accusing him and two former teammates of gang-raping a 17-year-old became public before he played in a regular season game. Following a 10-month dual investigation by San Diego police and prosecutors, authorities announced in December that Mr. Araiza would face no charges.
Yahoo Sports recently released a bombshell report refuting the purported victim’s story based upon a 200-plus page transcript of an interview between the deputy district attorney, Trisha Amador, and the accuser and her attorney. It now appears that the real victim in the case is Mr. Araiza—whom prosecutors say wasn’t present during an incident that doesn’t appear to have been a rape. Despite Mr. Araiza’s apparent innocence, neither the Bills nor the media outlets that maligned him have apologized. His once-promising career and reputation are in shambles. He’s still radioactive; a victim of Me Too mob justice, where men no longer enjoy a presumption of innocence.
According to the lawsuit, Araiza ordered the girl to perform oral sex, then later allegedly threw the girl down on a bed face first, where his teammates allegedly participated in a “horrific gang rape.” Bills general manager Brandon Beane explained in announcing Araiza’s release, “We just think it’s the best move for everyone to move on from Matt and let him take care of this situation.” But most in sports media weren’t satisfied with simply claiming Araiza’s scalp because apparently, the Bills knew about the rape allegations before drafting him.
Stephen A. Smith[1] at ESPN said the incident was a “stain” on the reputation of the NFL. “Something happened to that young lady, and it’s clear,” he said. “A gang rape…we’re talking imprisonment, we’re not talking settlement, we’re not talking a civil case.” His co-host agreed, saying, “seeing the bruises all over her…being held down for 90 minutes…they have the visual evidence.”
Nancy Armour, a columnist at USA Today who frequently uses her column to promote leftwing causes, lambasted the Bills and impugned Mr. Araiza’s character, arguing the team only cared “about what he can do with a football, not what he might have done to a high school girl.” Judy Battista of NFL.com wrote that it would de “ludicrous” for the Bills to do anything but drop Araiza immediately. Matthew Fairburn, writing in The Athletic, questioned whether “men fans could be proud of supporting” the team after the Bills’ alleged sin of drafting him.
Ms. Amador laid out a host of exculpatory evidence that calls the accuser’s credibility into question. Investigators established that Mr. Araiza left the party an hour before the alleged gang rape took place. More than 35 witnesses, including friends of the accuser, were interviewed and they portrayed a very different picture than what was alleged in the civil lawsuit. They said that the victim didn’t appear to be intoxicated. They asserted that she seemed “happy” after having consensual encounters with Mr. Araiza and one other teammate at the party, in separate incidents, prior to the alleged gang rape.
According to the transcript, one witness said that the accuser approached men at the party saying, “I want you to [expletive] me, and if you don’t [expletive] me, you’re a [expletive].” Investigators viewed nine videos of the alleged rape and concluded that she was “actively participating in the encounters” and saw no evidence of sexual assault. Additionally, witnesses said the girl told people at the party she was 18 and appeared on video at a party the night before saying the same thing. The accuser said she told Mr. Araiza she “went to Grossmont,” the name of her high school, but there’s also a Grossmont College just 7 miles from the party. According to California law, it is a defense to statutory rape if the accused reasonably believes the victim is at least 18.
Investigators conducted a thorough investigation and found no evidence that Mr. Araiza committed a crime. And yet, he remains unemployed despite the fact that he set an NCAA record for average punt yardage. USA Today reports that the accuser’s attorney offered to settle the civil case for $50,000, but Mr. Araiza declined because he maintains his innocence. In an interview, his “victim” stands by her story, and says she had “no recollection” of asking men for sex at the party. She maintains she’s happy the Bills cut the punter. For his part, Mr. Araiza said, “There was a time in this country and in the world where a woman would come forward and no one would believe them, and that’s not right. But the pendulum has swung to the other end. And it feels like it’s instantly believed, and I don’t think that’s right, either.”
Police won’t charge the accuser with filing a false report because she apparently still believes in her version of events, even though she claims she was highly intoxicated at the party. We live in an era where the presumption of innocence has been replaced by woke mob justice. Even when contrary evidence emerges, the virtue-signaling mob just looks the other way and pretends it was still justified in destroying a man’s life. The Jets have reportedly offered Araiza a tryout. But will they give him a contract? I don’t know but I’m still hopeful the Bills will give him a second chance, or at least an apology. They are just one of many organizations that owe him one.